Hard as the Rock Itself

Place and Identity in the American Mining Town

By David Robertson

Publication Year: 2006

The first intensive analysis of sense of place in American mining towns, Hard as the Rock Itself: Place and Identity in the American Mining Town provides rare insight into the struggles and rewards of life in these communities. David Robertson contends that these communities - often characterized in scholarly and literary works as derelict, as sources of debasing moral influence, and as scenes of environmental decay - have a strong and enduring sense of place and have even embraced some of the signs of so-called dereliction. Robertson documents the history of Toluca, Illinois; Cokedale, Colorado; and Picher, Oklahoma, from the mineral discovery phase through mine closure, telling for the first time how these century-old mining towns have survived and how sense of place has played a vital role. Acknowledging the hardships that mining's social, environmental, and economic legacies have created for current residents, Robertson argues that the industry's influences also have contributed to the creation of strong, cohesive communities in which residents have always identified with the severe landscape and challenging, but rewarding way of life. Robertson contends that the tough, unpretentious appearance of mining landscapes mirrors qualities that residents value in themselves, confirming that a strong sense of place in mining regions, as elsewhere, is not necessarily wedded to an attractive aesthetic or even to a thriving economy.

Cover

Title Page, Copyright Page

Contents

Preface

It can be difficult to pinpoint precisely the origins of a large research
project, especially one that has evolved over a lengthy period of time. That is
not the case with this book, however, which is the end-product of an encounter
I had as a first-year geography graduate student. When I arrived at the University
of Oklahoma more than a decade ago, I was planning to study environmental...

1: Introduction

"Every mature nation has its symbolic landscapes," writes geographer
D. W. Meinig, idealized places that evoke commonly understood meaning.
He cites the New England Village, the Main Street of Middle America,
and the California Suburb as examples of symbolic landscapes that have come to
represent idyllic spaces for American family life. But, as Meinig also observes...

2: Toluca

In January 1997 a news story appeared on Cable News Network (CNN)
describing a small Illinois community’s fight to save two piles of mining
waste—relics of a moribund coal mining industry—from being removed by
city bulldozers. “Some people in an Illinois town are going to bat for slag,” stated
the report. “It looks like a mound of dirt . . . but some say the slag is a national
treasure and they want to preserve it.” The town was Toluca, a historic coal mining...

3: Cokedale

State Highway 12 runs west from Trinidad, Colorado, climbing into
the pinyon-speckled foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. As the
road tops a rise eight miles west of Trinidad, a wall of black coal waste
interrupts the verdant scenery. The highway parallels the bank of mine tailings as
it descends into the valley. To the south of the highway lie two rows of crumbling
coke ovens. In their ruin, the oven arches resemble an ancient Roman viaduct. To...

4: Picher

Few historic mining towns in the United States are plagued by more
severe environmental problems than Picher, Oklahoma. In fact, when the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) compiled its initial list of
Superfund sites in 1983, the community was designated as one of the agency’s
highest priority cleanup areas. At the time, the environmental problems afflicting...

5: Conclusion

In the anthracite coal mining towns of Pennsylvania, Ben Marsh observed:
“[T]here is a paradox to these valleys. . . . The land means much, but
gives little.” Marsh explained this contradiction by showing that a broad concept
of place includes consideration of the physical support a landscape provides,
or its means, as well as its less tangible meanings. His research is revisited in order to...

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